Crime

Harrison Unanimously Confirmed: ‘A Path to Reform’

THE AFRO — The official confirmation of a new police commissioner marks a watershed moment for a city that has been without a permanent top cop for almost a year.

Published

6 years ago

March 17, 2019

Oakland Post

By Stephan Janis

The official confirmation of a new police commissioner marks a watershed moment for a city that has been without a permanent top cop for almost a year.

The Council unanimously approved the appointment of former New Orleans Superintendent Michael Harrison Monday, after a series of meetings with the community prior to the vote.

But now that the city has finally found a permanent leader for the department that has been roiled by scandal and weakened by departures, many unanswered questions leave the people rooting for him to succeed—anxious.

Among the most pressing: How can a police chief fix a department under a federal consent decree while battling one of the most turbulent stretches of violence in city history? And what if the Harrison, who has managed to successfully balance crime suppression and reform in New Orleans, doesn’t deliver quick results?

It’s a precarious balancing act reflected in the expectations of community members who spoke to the AFRO about Harrison’s confirmation.

“What I want commissioner Harrison to do first is two things. I want him to come up with a crime fighting plan and how he will implement a path to reform, because they are equally important,” Councilman Brandon Scott told the AFRO.

“I also want him to do a deep analysis on police department efficiency and how they respond to calls,” he said.

Part of his biggest challenge, some say, is that the BPD, can barely go a week without a scandal erupting, an ongoing distraction that continues to detract from both crime fighting and mending the relationship with the community.

Last week, a federal grand jury indicted former Baltimore Police Sergeant Keith Allen Gladstone on charges of denying the civil rights of a Baltimore man who was wrongfully charged. The indictment alleges Gladstone planted a BB gun on the suspect after a member of the notorious Gun Trace Task Force intentionally struck him with a police vehicle.

Then, there’s a legacy of police brutality that also continues to cause tensions. One of its victims Tawanda Jones, whose brother died in police custody in 2014, thinks Harrison has to laser focus on establishing a real sense of community oversight.

“I had the opportunity to meet with him at a meet and greet. He sounds amazing,” Jones told The AFRO.

“However, we need to see full transparency. And most importantly we need accountability.”

During his series of encounters with community members, one of the biggest themes that emerged was both the poor attitude and lack of engaged patrol officers. The chronically understaffed division has been cited by residents as the one aspect of policing they would actually like to see expanded.

“When police get a call, they have tendency to come into the community and shine a light on someone’s house,” said Lloyd McGuire during the meeting at the Forest Park School in the Northwest police district. “It’s not good.”

How Harrison plans to direct the department in his first days on the job is unclear. Police department spokesman Matt Jablow did not make him available for an interview with the AFRO.

However, not all community members are pleased with Harrison’s responsiveness so far.

NAACP Baltimore Branch Criminal Justice Chairperson Christopher Irvin says he has been waiting three weeks to sit down with Harrison. But he has not been given a time frame for when that meeting will occur.

“I have reached out to his scheduling person as the chair of criminal justice for the NAACP to meet with us both city and state conference. They confirmed receipt of the email. That was three weeks ago and haven’t heard a word from him,” Irvin told the AFRO.

“They can’t publicly wring their hands over crime but not sit with the people who are directly engaging with the community.”

This article originally appeared in The Afro.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

Published

1 hour ago

December 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

Man Found Guilty After Shooting Gun into Parked Car with Sleeping Passengers

Carmen Watts fired his gun into a parked car, where two unarmed men were sleeping, several times. One victim suffered multiple wounds, while the other was uninjured. He now faces 23 years in state prison. His sentencing is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 3, 2025 in Department 10 at the René C. Davidson Courthouse in Oakland.

Published

2 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Post Staff

A jury has returned a guilty verdict against Camren Watts on two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm for an unprovoked shooting near the intersection of 51^st Street and West Street in Oakland back in September of 2020.

Watts fired his gun into a parked car, where two unarmed men were sleeping, several times. One victim suffered multiple wounds, while the other was uninjured. He now faces 23 years in state prison. His sentencing is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 3, 2025 in Department 10 at the René C. Davidson Courthouse in Oakland.

“I first want to thank the jury for their service and careful deliberation in this trial,” said Chief Assistant District Attorney Royl Roberts. “I also want to congratulate the Prosecution Team for their hard work securing this conviction and recognize the Inspector on this assignment for their support throughout the case and jury trial. This guilty verdict reaffirms that anyone who uses a gun to harm people in our community will be held to account for their actions in a court of law.”

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New Interim Mayor Nikki Bas Takes Office, Announces Balanced Budget

“The Council made difficult but clear decisions last night,” Mayor Bas said in a statement released Thursday. “With yesterday’s budget adoption, the City of Oakland is on track to maintain our immediate fiscal health and our emergency reserves are at the required level.”

Published

2 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Nikki Fortunato Bas. Courtesy photo.

‘The Council made difficult but clear decisions,’ said Bas

Kaplan proposed for Interim District 2 Council seat

By Post Staff

Oakland City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas was sworn in interim mayor on Wednesday and immediately sat down with City Council members to rebalance the city’s budget, closing a projected deficit and maintaining emergency financial reserves.

“The City now seeks to move forward in strong collaboration with its Labor partners and the community-led Budget Advisory Commission toward long-term fiscal sustainability,” she said. “We all deserve to feel safe and secure, whether we’re taking our kids out to play, running our essential small businesses, parking our car on the street, or walking home at night.”

Bas took over as mayor from Sheng Thao, whose last day in office was Tuesday after losing a recall election in November.

“Thank you for choosing me to serve as your mayor. As the first Hmong American woman to become the mayor of a major American city, it has been the honor of my lifetime. I am deeply proud of the progress we created together,” Thao said.

Bas, in her final remarks as a councilmember, proposed that the City Council appoint Kaplan to replace her until the April election.

“As you know Councilmember Kaplan is retiring, she is willing to serve in this interim capacity. She is a resident of District 2 in Jack London, will not run for the seat in the special election; and I believe that she is uniquely qualified to jump in and immediately help to serve our District 2 residents, as well as key projects moving forward, and of course help lead the city’s biennial budget process,” Bas said.

At its meeting this week, the Council affirmed the City Administrator’s budget balancing actions, utilizing unrestricted and transferred funds to help fill the gap and provided direction and strategies to close the remaining need.

The proposals include finding new revenue from increased events and success at the Oakland Coliseum/Arena and other sources, making any further cuts a last resort.

They also proposed to immediately collect unpaid business taxes by doing an internal audit and strengthen controls on OPD overtime overspending.

Said Councilmember Kaplan, “It is vital to protect core public services, and the long-term fiscal solvency of our city. I am honored that the extra available funds I had previously identified have been confirmed, and are being incorporated into budget strategies, allowing Oakland to reduce cuts and restore reserves. In addition, important public serving and revenue-generating functions are being strengthened, including to reduce blight and provide safer, cleaner streets.”

Councilmember Kevin Jenkins (District 6) said, “The Fire Department, which had been preserved from cuts in July, was able to rapidly stop the Keller Fire from growing out of control, which prevented a repeat of the horrific loss of life and loss of homes that took place during the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire.”

According to a Mayor’s Office press statement, Oakland’s investments in the Oakland Police Department and the Department of Violence Prevention have yielded the fastest and most dramatic reduction in homicides in the city’s history.

The City’s deep investments in public safety over the past year continue to pay off, with homicides down 35% year-to-date and overall crime down by 34% since last year. The Public Safety Leadership team is very strong with OPD Chief Floyd Mitchell, DVP Chief Dr. Holly Joshi, OFD Chief Damon Covington, and their deputy chiefs having over a century of collective experience in Oakland.

The budget proposals preserve Oakland’s Ceasefire violence intervention strategy, prioritize OPD patrol and investigations, and continue services to improve 911 response times, with currently 71% of calls answered within 15 seconds or less — a dramatic improvement over the prior year, the press statement said.

Oakland’s investments in sidewalk repair, street paving, clearing abandoned autos, and safer conditions on our roadways are improving both safety and quality of life. The proposals restore funding for important and needed bicycle and pedestrian safety projects, street paving, and parking enforcement, the statement said.

The Council is considering a sales tax ballot measure for the April 15 special election. The proposed half-cent sales tax increase would raise approximately $29 million annually. Ongoing revenue generation and improved efficiencies would help address the City’s structural deficit in the next two-year budget.